Prediction of extracapsular extension in prostate cancer using the Likert scale combined with clinical and pathological parameters.

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the independent clinical, pathological, and radiological factors associated with extracapsular extension in radical prostatectomy specimens and to improve the accuracy of predicting extracapsular extension of prostate cancer before surgery. Methods: From August 2018 to June 2023, the clinical and pathological data of 229 patients with confirmed prostate cancer underwent radical prostatectomy from The Second Hospital of Yinzhou. The patients' multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging data were graded using the Likert scale. The chi-square or independent-sample T-test was used to analyze the related factors for an extracapsular extension. Multivariate analysis was used to identify independent factors associated with extracapsular extension in prostate cancer. Additionally, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to calculate the area under the curve and assess the diagnostic performance of our model. The clinical decision curve was used to analyze the clinical net income of Likert scale, biopsy positive rate, biopsy GG, and combined mode. Results: Of the 229 patients, 52 had an extracapsular extension, and 177 did not. Multivariate analysis showed that the Likert scale score, biopsy grade group and biopsy positive rate were independent risk factors for extracapsular extension in prostate cancer. The area under the curves for the Likert scale score, biopsy grade group, and biopsy positive rate were 0.802, 0.762, and 0.796, respectively. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the diagnostic efficiency for extracapsular extension (P>0.05). However, when these three factors were combined, the diagnostic efficiency was significantly improved, and the area under the curve increased to 0.905 (P<0.05). In the analysis of the decision curve, The clinical net income of the combined model is obviously higher than that of Likert scale, biopsy positive rate, and biopsy GG. Conclusion: The Likert scale, biopsy grade group and biopsy positive rate are independent risk factors for extracapsular extension in prostate cancer, and their combination can significantly improve the diagnostic efficiency for an extracapsular extension.

[Automatic houses detection with color aerial images based on image segmentation].

In order to achieve housing automatic detection from high-resolution aerial imagery, the present paper utilized the color information and spectral characteristics of the roofing material, with the image segmentation theory, to study the housing automatic detection method. Firstly, This method proposed in this paper converts the RGB color space to HIS color space, uses the characteristics of each component of the HIS color space and the spectral characteristics of the roofing material for image segmentation to isolate red tiled roofs and gray cement roof areas, and gets the initial segmentation housing areas by using the marked watershed algorithm. Then, region growing is conducted in the hue component with the seed segment sample by calculating the average hue in the marked region. Finally through the elimination of small spots and rectangular fitting process to obtain a clear outline of the housing area. Compared with the traditional pixel-based region segmentation algorithm, the improved method proposed in this paper based on segment growing is in a one-dimensional color space to reduce the computation without human intervention, and can cater to the geometry information of the neighborhood pixels so that the speed and accuracy of the algorithm has been significantly improved. A case study was conducted to apply the method proposed in this paper to high resolution aerial images, and the experimental results demonstrate that this method has a high precision and rational robustness.

Stratification structure of sludge flocs with implications to dewaterability.

Sludge dewatering has proven to be an effective method to reduce the volume of sludge. In this study, a novel stratification approach aimed at better understanding the factors influencing the sludge dewaterability (as determined by capillary suction time, CST) was developed. The sludge flocs from 14 different full-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), including sewage, leachate, industry, and special-source sludge, were stratified through centrifugation and ultrasound into five layers: (1) supernatant, (2) slime, (3) loosely bound extracellular polymeric substances (LB-EPS), (4) tightly bound EPS (TB-EPS), and (5) pellet. The results showed that the distribution pattern of proteins (PN) in the sludge flocs differed from that of polysaccharides (PS). The normalized CST correlated with PN (R2 > 0.72, p < 0.01) and PN/PS (R2 > 0.51, p < 0.01) in the supernatant, slime, and LB-EPS, but not with PN and PN/ PS in the pellet and the sludge flocs as a whole or with PS in any of the fractions and or the sludge flocs as a whole. The results suggest that PN and PN/PS in the supernatant and slime layers, which are usually decanted due to their assumed lower content of organic matter, markedly impact sludge dewaterability.

Toward understanding the mechanism of improving the production of volatile fatty acids from activated sludge at pH 10.0.

A well-defined fractionation approach for sludge flocs was applied to a better understanding of the underlying mechanism of improving the production of volatile fatty acids (VFA) in the hydrolysis and acidification processes at pH 10.0. Specifically, sludge flocs were fractionated through centrifugation and ultrasound into four fractions: (1) slime, (2) loosely bound extracellular polymeric substances (LB-EPS), (3) tightly bound EPS (TB-EPS) and (4) pellet. Result showed that during 20 days of fermentation, the total VFA production at pH 10.0 was higher, from 2 to 34 times, than that at pH 5.5. At pH 10.0, however, the enzyme activities (i.e. protease, alpha-amylase, alkaline phosphatase and acid phosphatase) in all fractions of sludge flocs were all lower than pH 5.5, which strongly suggests that the biotic effect was not the leading cause of the VFA improvement. Further investigation suggests that pH 10.0 could significantly improve the VFA production through the break of sludge matrix which is usually hydrolyzed by the extracellular enzymes embedded in itself, increase the effective contact between extracellular organic matters and enzymes, and create a favorable environment for microbes to accumulate VFA. Hydrolysis and acidification at pH 10.0 can be considered as part of an appropriate solution for tertiary treatment and contribute to the headway toward the goal of sustainable water treatment technologies.

[Effect of proteins and polysaccharides in sewage sludge on dewaterability].

The thermophilic (55 degrees C) hydrolysis and acidification were conducted in order to investigate the composition and distribution of proteins and polysaccharides and the effect of them on dewaterability of sludge. Sludge flocs were divided into four layers by centrifuge and ultrasound, i.e., slime, loosely bound-extracellular polymeric substances (LB-EPS), tightly bound-EPS (TB-EPS) and cells (Pellet). Results showed that most of proteins and polysaccharides located in pellet. Capillary suction time (CST) during digestion at pH 5.5 was slightly higher than the raw sludge, while CST during digestion at pH 10.0 was markedly higher than the raw sludge. Statistical analysis suggested that CST was affected by soluble proteins and soluble proteins/polysaccharides and virtually no affected by proteins, polysaccharides or proteins/polysaccharides in sludge and other layers except slime.